Gardening never ceases to teach me things, making the endeavor ever more enjoyable for me. For example, NOLD has three Paper Birch trees. At first, I inaccurately thought the peeling bark was a sign of their poor health. Rather, I have learned that the small gifts of paper-thin bark this variety sheds allows it to remove lichen and retain bark health.
Paper Birch thrive at northern latitudes up to the Arctic Circle and higher elevations up to the summits of the Appalacian Mountains. Their light color helps deflect heat which allows the trees to protect surrounding conifers. Sounds like a great tree to plant in light of climate change, no?
Please note: The shed bark of Paper Birch can be flattened and then cut for art projects. Or, leave your serendipitous find curled like a scroll, appreciating its mystery:
From Tanka Diary
Harryette Mullen
Walking the path, I stop to pick up
bleached bark from a tree, curled into
a scroll of ancient wisdom I am unable to read.
bleached bark from a tree, curled into
a scroll of ancient wisdom I am unable to read.
